As a kid, I used to love comic books (mostly horror), but I especially loved their covers: that sense of excitement! Of possibility! Of intrigue! Usually, the stories themselves turned out to be pretty banal, nothing like what the cover promised.
With this concept book, I got thrown back to that dizzy excitement, although I have to say this was a totally different kind of buzz. These covers are weird, odd, sometimes off-putting, sometimes deliberately disgusting; of course they're also beautiful, puzzling, enticing and dream-like. Some of these I'd actually like to read. Others, not so much. Some of them would probably give you lifelong insomnia or superpowers or open the gateway to some other dimension, I don't know. "Kommix" is the kind of book you'd hide from the kids (and not just because of the nudity), which would make finding it (as they invariably will) even more of a deliciously thrilling experience for them (and not just because of the nudity).
A word of warning, it's probably best not to leaf through the whole book in one sitting; I did just that, and by the last couple of pages I felt pretty much exhausted, taking away from the impact of the images. I guess there is such a thing as Charles Burns overload.

Allegedly "80 comic books that never were", what this amounts to is a spread of wonderful comic or graphic novel covers, showing an intriguing launch-pad (or similarly cliff-hanger) for the non-existent book's main character. Several to start off with here featured a young explorer, with not much hair, a black quiff and a black cat – and plasters across the side of his head. I felt it worthwhile calling him Nitnit – and here is Nitnit finding bizarre shrines in caverns, stuck on a rock in the middle of a torrent rushing to the waterfall edge under both his feet, and witnessing naked aliens. Other books have a kind of femme fatale lead, before we get into the world of romance comics, weirdo alien romance comics, and so on.

I certainly wouldn't have subscribed to Huss, where the girls have men shielding their eyes, or else they're in a bathtub full of alien life-forms, or else – well, it doesn't bear thinking. Many of these covers have alien, pseudo-oriental lettering, so it's impossible to know what they're called, but we can easily have a go guessing. Suggestion is on the rampage here, which is the point – this shows the overt thrills that all of these books in their real-world, completed form, promised. This is not 'one man splurges and says I could have done all this with my eyes closed', this is done as tribute. It's in honour of the impact these covers would have had then – and, going much further than the times allowed, what they would look like now (certainly, Vagina Beauty would not have hit many drugstore spinners…).

Finishing with Nitnit in full-on squelchy alien orifice nutjobbery, this is fine – as long, of course, as you know what to expect. It's certificate 15 at least, it's quite graphic in silly ways at times, and it's fully non-narrative, except it's not. It's non-narrative until your dirty mind works out what that floating alien is doing with that sleeping man, what that lass is dreaming of, and what Nitnit has in store for later now. A strong four stars.

While not a traditional graphic novel with a story, each comic cover tells a story itself; partly from the images, and partly from the viewers imagination. These untold comics reminded me of The Dreaming Library in Sandman. Stories that could have, and should have, been told but never were.

Charles Burns crafts a fascinating use of the comics form in Kommix. A look at adolescence and human experience in a viable and expressive medium.

Thank you NetGalley and Fantagraphics for the chance to see this ARC!

There isn't much to comment on here! This is a collection of covers by Charles Burns for comics that can only ever be imagined. While it's fun, it's a yes or no thing; either you like his style or you don't!

This is a book for Charles Burns fans. It is 80 comic book covers from the author, but alas these are just covers, the stories remain in the mind of the author.

It is a great book for fans, but I wanted the stories to be told. I suppose this is how a book like this is supposed to make you feel.

Copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Pretty much just an art book. A collection off covers that was interesting enough to look through but didn’t do much for me. Thanks for the opportunity to view and review.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Fantagraphics Books for an advance copy of this new collection of art by a comic master.

I spent a lot of my time as a child, well also a teen, and frankly as an adult sitting on the sofa and reading comics. From an early age I read whatever I could get from the newsstand in my Grandmother's neighborhood in the Bronx, the tag sales, flea markets and junk stores that seem so plentiful growing up in Connecticut, and occasionally the library, when the moon was right. Superheroes were easy to get, but if it was in 4-colors I pretty much read it. Sad Sack, Disney, Friendly Ghosts, European comics, I cared little I just wanted art and story. I knew from an early age that what was on the cover didn't really reflect what might be happening in the book. This might not be a pulse-pounding issue, there still might be a hero, though I was promised on the cover the hero was "NO MORE!!!". Also some covers were just weird. Strange looks, strange poses, wistful looks with strange word balloons, or captions, that drew the eye, sometimes the libido, and that proudly plunked down quarter. Only to disappoint as the art inside did not deliver what the cover promised.

Kommix by Charles Burns is not a novel per se, but a collection of covers, 80 in fact of comics that should have existed but never will. Or maybe they do, in a parallel universe where Charles Burns is as celebrated as Stan Lee, where Black Hole is the Watchmen of graphic novels. The covers in this book are odd, off and with titles that are strange, funny, and in some cases might have looked in place on a comics spinner in a drugstore . Burns pays homage to a a lot of different genres, but in his own way and style. One wishes there were stories to accompany these covers, but a lot of comic readers understands the truth about covers, what you see is sometimes not what one gets, and a good cover can hid a multitude of sins on the pages that follow.

Charles Burns has a really good imagination, and the talent to take what is in his brains and bring it to the page. The art is really good, just right for what Burns is going for. They are funny, odd, weird, and different. Not quite parody, not quite homage. This book is more of an art piece than a graphic novel which might upset some fans, but the art is really nice, the ideas are funny, and it is Charles Burns at his imaginative best. A collection really worth having.

I was all excited to see a new Charles Burns comic, then I realized it was really just an art book. It's still welcome because I love Burns's art but it's not the same. This is 80 pages of covers for comics that never existed. They are odes to the comics of the 50s and 60s and they are terrific. My favorites all have that Burns oddness to them, kind of like the set of refrigerator magnets I have of his. There is also a lot of nudity in this so maybe look at this one after the kids go to bed. I'd love for Burns to turn some of these into actual comics in the future.

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own

Before I realized that these were adult comic covers, I was confused by the lady in the house. After that, I was entertained and think a few prints would look great on my walls.

This is not for children, but the vintage dirty comic vibe is right up my alley

At the end of the Last Look trilogy, Doug is stranded in a vast delusional landscape of his own making. Reading KOMMIX, I began to sense I was seeing a sort of sequel. Doug has disappeared so far into his own mind that all we get of him are these images presented as covers to comic books, where a story is implied but never told, where Doug can dwell in the fantasy of possibility--anything just so he does not have to confront the reality he has created for himself. This fantasy goes so far as to generate covers to other comics, similar to the teeny pulp ones he gathered in Last Look, the implications of stories where he can further disappear. Even the gibber gabber kanji-esque written language feels like you'd see it in a dream, something so familiar but impossible to gather any information from. Exactly the type of thing Doug's fractured mind might come up with.

In these new fantastical comics of Doug's imagining, creeping alien masses of meat take over the frame from the stereotypical images one might expect to see. My guess? They're standing in for the guilt and rot that haunts him and surrounds him in his dream/nightmare world. I sense a logic, a loose one, but a logic nonetheless. Of course this is just a bit of a reach on my part. There is the possibility that KOMMIX is just a collection of leftover ideas fleshed out to book length. I prefer my interpretation.

The art is wonderful and the book is beautifully arranged (as all Fantagraphics publications are). But, the book is frustrating. You come away wanting to read an issue of HUSS, to see exactly what those floating deformed meatballs are really up to. My own theory about the sequel/side-quel to Last Look is likely a product of this frustration. Because Burns is always so good, you are left wanting more.

Would read again, though I may not buy it.

Thanks to Burns and Fantagraphics for the ARC.

Major thanks to NetGalley and Fantagraphics for an ARC of this book in exchange for my thoughts:

An art book covering covers of reimagined teen romance pulp and his X'ed Out trilogy. Quick and easy to flip through as it's playful, grotesque, odd, and alien, everything I like about Burns. There's always an underlying darkness to his work that aims at the warped and sourness of humanity's underbelly of American commercialism and culture.

Perfect for any Burns fan as it makes a perfect coffee table book.

Woohoo, new Charles Burns book! Oh… it’s just a series of covers. For comics that don’t exist. Hmm.

Kommix contains a number of covers featuring Doug, his Tintin proxy from the Last Look trilogy, hinting at possible adventures he went on after that series wrapped. I’d actually be ok with Burns going back to that character/world and doing more comics - thems was a fun read.

Most of the other covers are subversive homages to (why not?) teen romance comics from the 1950s and ‘60s. The imagery is a mixture of trippy, grotesque, humorous, and surreal, and the art throughout looks great - Burns has only gotten better as an artist over the years. I also liked the made-up kanji-type letters he puts on some of the covers in lieu of actual language - tres creative.

But it’s still just an art book and I think I speak for most Burns fans when I say a full length narrative comic would’ve been preferred. Kommix will only appeal to collectors and/or fans of Burns’ art rather than most of his audience, including myself. The book is pretty to look at but offers up little else.

Thank you to NetGalley and Fantagraphics for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I am a long-time fan of Charles Burns. Black Hole is a legendary book within the realm of graphic literature and was for me, like many others, one of the first books I read when discovering that comics were more than just the big three publisher's superhero stories.

in 'Kommix', Burns has created 80 covers for non-existent comic books. While I am a sucker for his art style, this release missed the mark for me. While the technical execution is stellar as always, the lack of anything beyond the beautiful (and sometimes disturbing) artwork left me with a hollow feeling. Perhaps these pieces would work in an art gallery, but 'Kommix' seems to me like a souvenir book you'd purchase in a museum gift shop after attending the showing.

This is a collection of covers drawn by Charles Burns. It's very interesting for fans and those interested in his art. While it's not a graphic novel, so there's no story to be told, it's possible to imagine a multitude of possibilities behind those covers. They keep you wondering what's going on, which is a fun exercise of imagination.

I read "Black Hole" and liked it, so I was curious about "Kommix". The cover collection of could-have-been-comics is fascinating. Some are romantic, some adventurous but they all are a bit bizarre and have the special touch of 1950s comic art. I like looking at them and discover small details. There are recurring themes like desperation, lust and confusion.

as the description alludes to, burn's comic book covers that never came to fruition would've been something that i would've loved to see in the world. the sci-fi/mystery elements and allusions to sexuality along with the nods to japanese culture were interesting to look at and would make a great coffee table book.

This was a quirky and interesting futuristic collection of covers. I was not familiar with Bruns work prior to this and I think this would have been more enjoyable for me if I was a fan. I did find some of the covers interesting enough to want to see his other work. I wish there had been an introduction or some writing to accompany the collection to make it more cohesive.
Would not recommend for the general reader.

Interesting. Covers to comic books that never were. Very interesting style. Warning, there's some nudity, so you know avoid for kids. Kinda weird. But interesting.

I was given a free e-galley of the book in return for a review.

Enjoyed this. There are multiple prints I here that I would hang on the wall. Several images repeat and most are interesting. I do wish there was a bit more here - maybe a short introduction or reflection? - but as is, this will make an amusing/unnerving coffee table book or sit nicely next to other comix on the shelf.